Biography

Boyd was born in Washington D.C. and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School[2]. Shortly afterwards, he moved to Burlington, North Carolina with his family. He briefly worked for a Democratic candidate for governor in the 1968 campaign. A car injury prevented him from serving in the Vietnam War.

He moved to Albemarle County in 1982 to take a job working for Jefferson National Bank. In 1991, he left the bank to start a financial planning business in 1991. He completed his undergraduate degree many years later from Averett University, followed soon by an MBA. Boyd's political career began in 1993 when he volunteered for the gubernatorial campaign of Republican George Allen. In 1999, he successfully ran for the Rivanna district seat on the Albemarle County School Board.

Four years later, he opted to run for the Board of Supervisors, and defeated Democrat Peter Hallock. In 2007, he ran for re-election and beat Marcia Joseph with a 3% margin. In 2009, he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in Virginia's 5th District. He originally told C-Ville weekly he did not anticipate running for re-election to his Supervisor seat in 2011. [3] Boyd changed his mind and announced his plans to seek a third term in May 2011. [4]

Board of Supervisors

In 2003, Boyd successfully ran for a seat on the Board of Supervisors, defeating Democrat Peter Hallock. He was the chairperson from 2007 to 2008. Four years later, he ran for reelection and beat Marcia Joseph by a 146 vote margin.[6] In 2009, he told C-Ville Weekly he would not run for reelection to his Supervisor seat in 2011.[2]

Boyd originally sought the chairmanship of the Board in 2009, but withdrew his name from consideration in the face of opposition. [7] Democrat Ann Mallek went on to win her second year as chair of the Board. Despite failing to become chair, Boyd has been described as the Board's "de-facto majority leader" in the press. [2]

Hollymead controversy

Boyd was severely criticized by constituents after he announced his support for rezoning 140 acres south of Hollymead Town Center as a growth area.[8] The move would benefit Wendell Wood, a mega-developer who was the largest individual contributor to Boyd's campaigns. [9]

Boyd originally supported opening up the area for further development but agreed to "do what the people want" and opposed the construction after significant constituent oppositions.[8] Three weeks later, Boyd changed his mind leading to his being dubbed a flip-flopper, a term he said was "appropriate." [8] After his switch back, Boyd held a town hall where he faced the ire of over a hundred constituents, who demanded he withdraw his support for the development until infrastructure could be built to handle it. [8]

Western bypass rebirth

Boyd played a central role during the June 8th, 2011 surprise vote to change Albemarle County's position on the western bypass.[10]

The project was listed as one of the most wasteful road projects in the country by Taxpayers for Common Sense. [11]

The move was condemned in an editorial in The Daily Progress, Charlottesville's daily newspaper, stating that the actions were "disrespectful toward constituents and disdainful of best practices in public decision-making." [12] The editorial went on to state that Boyd's actions were "appalling", an "end run around the public," whether "the bypass is the best solution for the public or not, the manner in which this step was taken is contemptuous in the extreme" and amounted to an "act of contempt for the public" as well as for "best practices of public leadership."[12]

Boyd announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives on September 14, 2009, joining many other Republicans interested in challenging Tom Perriello[13]. Boyd came fourth with 7.37% of the vote. [14]